Emily Walker – Environmental Warrior

Emily Walker recently won a $250 grant from Roots & Shoots for Straw No More Townsville. She has utilised the money to fundraise by making re-usable makeup remover pads, buying a tent and other items to help when she visits markets to promote her cause.

Lately, Emily has

• Met with the Mayor of Townsville, Jenny Hill to congratulate her on pledging for all Council events and venues to be single-use plastic free.  We also spoke about the need for Townsville to have a commercial composting facility and how we might improve kerbside waste collection processes to better cater for green waste.
• Created an Eco-council at my school where me and a small group of my peers are helping the school community reduce the waste created by their lunchboxes, making sure bins are clearly labelled and incorporating our efforts into the junior curriculum in partnership with our teachers.
• Partnered with Reef HQ in a video conference with remote Queensland schools to help them learn about protecting the Great Barrier Reef.
• Spoke at a local climate change concert
• Held an educational stall at the Willows Rotary markets surveying members of my community as to whether they would support a phase out of single-use plastics in Australia.  I am pleased to report that 93% of the people I surveyed on that day emphatically supported such a phase out.
• Participated in the inaugural ‘Beecause Day’ in my neighbouring suburb of Kalynda Chase.  I ran an educational store and further surveyed the community on their support of a single-use plastics phase out
• Attended the Keep Queensland Beautiful Litter Symposium in Brisbane where I shared my story as to why I became and eco-warrior and my achievements to date
• Met with the Queensland Minister for Environment, Minister Leeanne Enoch to speak with her about my passion for reducing single-use plastics and pitching for the State Government to fund more commercial composting facilities around Queensland.  Queensland Parliament subsequently took the ‘Straw No More Pledge’ and will no longer supply plastic straws at Parliament House or in any of their catering contracts.
• Collected over 120 thousand plastic straws that have been shipped to REPLAS in Victoria to be made into a recycled plastic bench seat to be installed by Townsville City Council (location is to be confirmed but I am hoping along our beachfront walkway called The Strand) to bring attention to the issue of single-use plastics
• Marched in the 20 September Global Climate Strike in Townsville
• Entered into a partnership with AIME Mentoring as their forst ‘Imagination Ambassador’ to encourage other young people my age to believe that they can make a difference and that they are part of the solution to the world’s problems.

Coming up, Emily will

1. Launching the Bushland Beach markets as a single-use plastic free market
2. The new North Queensland Stadium will soon announce that it will be a Straw No More Stadium and will not offer plastic straws at the catering outlets within the stadium
3. Meeting with my local Federal MP to try and gain his support for a meeting with Prime Minister Scott Morrison
4. Recording podcasts and other footage in partnership with AIME mentoring

Below are some photos of Emily in action!